Feed source array and antenna system
By interlacing adjacent feed groups in the feed array, the problems of beam management complexity and signal power reduction in the prior art are solved, and simpler and more effective beam management is achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202311566159.5
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-11-22
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-23
Smart Images
Figure CN120033456A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present application relates to the field of antennas, and in particular, to a feed array and an antenna system. Background Art
[0002] Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) is a new type of antenna array composed of a feed array and a transmission array. Since the RIS array itself has the function of phase modulation, a group of feeds at different positions can generate beams in different directions, thereby realizing the beamforming function of the antenna array. The current feed array hardware architecture is a rectangular array composed of N rows and M columns of feeds. The baseband signal is fed into different feed groups in the array using a switch network and a combiner, thereby realizing beamforming and signal transmission. The common feed grouping method is rectangular grouping, that is, the rectangular feed array is divided into several groups of rectangular (n rows and m columns, n, m are positive integers) feed groups. According to functional requirements, the feeds in each feed group can receive the same baseband signal, or they can receive different baseband signals through the switch network. Feeds in different groups generally do not overlap.
[0003] In the case of non-overlapping feed grouping, limited by the number of existing feeds and the corresponding number of beams, there is a power reduction area between the beams generated by two adjacent feed groups. Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of rectangular grouping and corresponding beams in the transmission RIS system. Figure 1 As shown, some cases of rectangular feed grouping (group 1 and group 2) and the beams (beam 1 and beam 2) formed by the corresponding array groups after transmission RIS. It can be seen that there is a power reduction area between beam 1 and beam 2.
[0004] In order to solve the problem of signal power reduction in the middle of adjacent beams, the current method is to design the hardware architecture so that the same feed source can belong to different feed source groups. The combiner can be used to aggregate the input signals of the feed sources belonging to adjacent rectangular array groups to form a new group, and generate a beam aligned with the middle position of the original adjacent beams to improve the problem of signal power reduction. Figure 1 For example, part of the feed source is taken from group 1 and group 2 to form group 3, and the baseband signal is input into group 3 by a combiner to form beam 3, thereby improving the power reduction problem in the middle area between beam 1 and beam 2. The main problem of this hardware architecture is that an additional combiner is required to manage the beam, which increases the complexity of system design and beam management.
[0005] In summary, there is no good solution to the problem in the related art that an additional combiner is needed to manage beams, which increases the complexity of system design and beam management. Summary of the invention
[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a feed array and an antenna system, so as to at least solve the problem in the related art that an additional combiner is required to manage beams, resulting in an increase in the complexity of system design and beam management.
[0007] According to an embodiment of the present application, a feed array is provided. The feed array is divided into multiple feed groups, where each of the feed groups includes multiple feeds arranged according to a preset topological structure, and any two adjacent feed groups are staggered in the row direction and the column direction.
[0008] In some embodiments, each feed in the feed array belongs to one of the feed groups, and each feed belongs to only one of the feed groups.
[0009] In some embodiments, the multiple feed groups are congruent polygons for planar tiling.
[0010] In some embodiments, the number of feeds in the feed groups at the edge positions of the feed array is less than or equal to the number of feeds in the feed groups at non-edge positions.
[0011] In some embodiments, the feed array is aligned in the row direction and the column direction.
[0012] In some embodiments, the preset topological structure includes at least one of the following: a preset first topology; the preset first topology rotated 90°, 180°, or 270°; the mirror symmetry of the preset first topology; the mirror symmetry of the preset first topology rotated 90°, 180°, or 270°.
[0013] In some embodiments, the feed array is aligned in the row direction, and the odd rows and the even rows are staggered; or, the feed array is aligned in the column direction, and the odd columns and the even columns are staggered.
[0014] In some embodiments, the preset topological structure includes at least one of the following: a preset second topology, where the preset second topology is a staggered deformation of the preset first topology in the row direction or the column direction; the preset second topology rotated 90°, 180°, or 270°; the mirror symmetry of the preset second topology; the mirror symmetry of the preset second topology rotated 90°, 180°, or 270°.
[0015] In some embodiments, each feed group corresponds to one or more of the preset topological structures, where the multiple preset topological structures are staggered in the row direction and the column direction.
[0016] In some embodiments, the multiple feed source groups are connected to the baseband signal of the antenna system through a switch network and a radio frequency link and form a beam respectively, wherein the beam direction corresponding to each of the feed source groups is different.
[0017] According to another embodiment of the present application, an antenna system is provided. The antenna system includes the feed array described in any one of the above embodiments.
[0018] The embodiments of the present application improve the arrangement of the feed array so that adjacent feed groups are staggered in the horizontal and vertical directions, thereby improving the power reduction in the middle area of adjacent beams, and further solving the problem in the related art of needing to add additional combiners to manage beams, resulting in increased complexity of system design and beam management. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of rectangular grouping and corresponding beams in the transmission RIS system;
[0020] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the hardware architecture of a feed array according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0021] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an arrangement of feed source groups in a feed source array according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0022] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of feed source grouping and corresponding beams according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0023] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a topological structure of a preset first topology in an embodiment of the present application;
[0024] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of feed source grouping and corresponding beams according to another embodiment of the present application;
[0025] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a staggered feed array according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0026] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of a topological structure of a preset second topology according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in combination with the embodiments.
[0028] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of this application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence.
[0029] In one embodiment of the present application, a feed array is provided, which can be applied to an antenna, in particular a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) antenna, which is a new type of antenna array composed of a feed array and a transmission array, and the hardware architecture of the feed array is a rectangular array composed of N rows and M columns of feeds.
[0030] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the hardware architecture of a feed source array according to an embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 2 As shown, each rectangle represents a feed source, and the feed source array consists of multiple rows and columns of feed sources.
[0031] In this embodiment, the feed source array is divided into a plurality of feed source groups, each of the feed source groups comprises a plurality of feed sources arranged according to a preset topological structure, and any two adjacent feed source groups are arranged alternately in the row direction and the column direction.
[0032] The embodiments of the present application change the grouping method of the feed groups so that adjacent feed groups are staggered in the horizontal and vertical directions. This improves the power reduction in the middle area of adjacent beams without increasing the complexity of system design and beam management. This can solve the problem in the related art that additional combiners are needed to manage beams, which increases the complexity of system design and beam management.
[0033] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the arrangement of feed source groups in a feed source array according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 As shown, multiple feed source groups are spread across the entire feed source array in a planar densely paved manner.
[0034] In this embodiment, each of the feed sources in the feed source array belongs to one of the feed source groups, and each of the feed sources belongs to only one of the feed source groups.
[0035] In this embodiment, the plurality of feed source groups are congruent polygons that are tacked together in a plane. The present application does not limit the shape of the polygons, and the shape of each feed source group can refer to the description of the preset topological structure in the present application.
[0036] In some embodiments, the number of feed sources in the feed source group at the edge position of the feed source array is less than or equal to the number of feed sources in the feed source group at the non-edge position. The number of feed sources between each feed source group may be the same or different.
[0037] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of feed source grouping and corresponding beams according to an embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 4 As shown, feed groups 1, 2, and 3 correspond to beams 1, 2, and 3 respectively.
[0038] In this embodiment, feed group 2 is located at the edge of the feed array, and the number of feeds included in feed group 2 is different from that of feed groups 1 and 3. Figure 4 The beam corresponding to the feed source group is Figure 1 Compared with the beams corresponding to the middle rectangular grouping, the beams in the embodiment of the present application have better coverage, which can improve the situation where the power in the middle area between two adjacent beams drops significantly, and thus solve the problem in the related technology that additional combiners are needed to manage the beams, resulting in increased complexity in system design and beam management.
[0039] In the embodiment of the present application, the grouping method of the feed source group should meet the following conditions:
[0040] (1) Any feed in the feed array belongs to a certain feed group and only to one feed group;
[0041] (2) Any two adjacent feed source groups are arranged alternately in the row direction and the column direction.
[0042] In the embodiment of the present application, the row direction and the column direction may also be replaced by the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.
[0043] In the embodiment of the present application, the judgment basis of condition (2) may include: there is at least one feed in each feed group set, and the intersection of the row and column in the array where the feed is located and the adjacent feed group set is empty. There may be exceptions for feed groups at edge positions.
[0044] In this embodiment, the purpose of condition (1) is to remove the combiner in the hardware architecture and only use the feeds in a certain group for beamforming, thereby reducing hardware complexity. The role of condition (2) is to constrain the shape of the feed grouping method to ensure that the feeds in two adjacent feed groups are staggered in rows and columns, so that the signal power between adjacent beams is improved.
[0045] The embodiments of the present application do not impose any restrictions on the topological structure of a single feed group and the specific distribution of multiple feed groups in a feed array. As long as the above conditions are met, the technical effect of improving the power reduction in the middle area of adjacent beams can be achieved.
[0046] In some embodiments, the feed arrays are aligned in row and column directions.
[0047] In some embodiments, based on the alignment of the feed array in the row and column directions, the preset topological structure includes at least one of the following: a preset first topology; the preset first topology is rotated 90°, 180° or 270°; the mirror symmetry of the preset first topology; the mirror symmetry of the preset first topology is rotated 90°, 180° or 270°.
[0048] Figure 5is a schematic diagram of a topological structure of a preset first topology in an embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 5 As shown, based on the feed source arrays being aligned in the row direction and the column direction, the preset first topology may include any one of structures a to k.
[0049] Figure 5 The topological structure of the preset first topology shown in is only an example, and the preset first topology in the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto. Exemplarily, the preset first topological structure can also be composed of any one or more structures from a to k.
[0050] In this embodiment, the feed arrays can be grouped according to any preset first topology, and the topological structures of the feed groups in the same feed array can be completely the same, or can include one or more deformations of the same topological structure. The deformation of the topological structure can include rotation and mirroring.
[0051] In some embodiments, each of the feed source groups in the feed source array may correspond to one or more of the preset topological structures, wherein the multiple preset topological structures are arranged alternately in the row direction and the column direction. That is, each feed source may correspond to only one preset first topology, or may include a combination of multiple preset first topologies. When a single topology can meet the basic conditions of the grouping method, the combination of multiple topologies also meets the basic conditions of the above-mentioned grouping method.
[0052] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of feed source grouping and corresponding beams according to another embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 6 As shown, feed groups 1 and 2 correspond to beams 1 and 2 respectively. Feed groups 1 and 2 are defined by the areas enclosed by two solid lines.
[0053] In this embodiment, Figure 6 Each feed group in is composed of Figure 4 It is formed by the combination of two feed groups in.
[0054] In this embodiment, the grouping method of the feed source groups in any of the above embodiments can be recombined to derive a new grouping method. Since the two groups of feed sources determined by this grouping method are staggered in both the horizontal and vertical directions, the problem of power drop in the middle area covered by adjacent beams can be alleviated.
[0055] In other embodiments, the feed source arrays are aligned in the row direction, with odd rows and even rows staggered; or, the feed source arrays are aligned in the column direction, with odd columns and even columns staggered.
[0056] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a staggered feed source array according to an embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 7As shown, the staggered arrangement of the feed array can be divided into the following two modes:
[0057] Horizontally staggered 72 and vertically staggered 74.
[0058] In this embodiment, the horizontal staggered arrangement 72 means that the feed arrays are aligned in the row direction, and the odd and even rows are staggered. The vertical staggered arrangement 74 means that the feed arrays are aligned in the column direction, and the odd and even columns are staggered.
[0059] In an embodiment of the present application, by changing the arrangement of the feed array, it is also possible to ensure that adjacent feed groups are staggered in the horizontal or vertical direction, thereby alleviating the problem of low power in the coverage area between adjacent beams.
[0060] In some embodiments, based on the staggered arrangement of the feed source array in the row direction or the column direction, the preset topological structure includes at least one of the following: a preset second topology, wherein the preset second topology is a staggered deformation of the preset first topology in the row direction or the column direction; the preset second topology is rotated 90°, 180° or 270°; the mirror symmetry of the preset second topology; the mirror symmetry of the preset second topology is rotated 90°, 180° or 270°.
[0061] In some embodiments, the preset second topology can be based on the preset first topology, and its topological structure can be staggered in alternate rows or columns. The staggering scheme can be staggered upward or downward. Correspondingly, each preset first topology can generate at most 4 different preset second topologies after staggered deformation.
[0062] In this embodiment, the staggered deformation of the preset first topological structure includes at least one of the following:
[0063] Odd rows are staggered to the left / even rows are staggered to the right;
[0064] Odd rows staggered to the right / even rows staggered to the left;
[0065] Odd columns stagger upwards / even columns stagger downwards;
[0066] Odd columns stagger downwards / even columns stagger upwards.
[0067] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a topological structure of a preset second topology according to an embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 8 As shown, Figure 5 Taking the C structure of the preset first topology in as an example, four preset second topologies from C-0 to C-3 may be generated after staggered deformation.
[0068] In this embodiment, C-0 and C-1 are respectively generated by C structures interlaced in alternate rows in the horizontal direction, and C-2 and C-3 are respectively generated by C structures interlaced in alternate columns in the vertical direction.
[0069] Figure 8 This is only an example of the staggered deformation of the preset first topology of the C structure. According to the above staggered deformation rules, any preset first topology can be derived into 4 different preset second topologies after staggered deformation, and this application does not impose any limitation on this.
[0070] In some embodiments, each feed source group in the feed source array may correspond to one or more of the preset topological structures, wherein the multiple preset topological structures are arranged alternately in the row direction and the column direction. That is, each feed source may correspond to only one preset second topology, or may include a combination of multiple preset second topologies.
[0071] In some embodiments, the multiple feed source groups are connected to the baseband signal of the antenna system through a switch network and a radio frequency link and form a beam respectively, wherein the beam direction corresponding to each of the feed source groups is different.
[0072] In this embodiment, after the feed sources are grouped, different feed source groups can be selected through a switch network to form beams in corresponding directions. Since the feed source groups are interlaced with each other, the power reduction in the middle area of adjacent beams can also be improved.
[0073] In the embodiment of the present application, the user can feedback the best beam according to the quality of adjacent beams and select the corresponding feed group for communication. Through the embodiment of the present application, the problem of reducing the power of the intermediate signal of adjacent beams can be improved by only grouping the feeds or changing the arrangement of the feeds without using a combiner, thereby reducing the complexity of system design and beam management.
[0074] In another embodiment of the present application, an antenna system is provided. The antenna system includes the feed array in any of the above embodiments.
[0075] In some embodiments, the antenna array in the antenna system includes a feed array and a transmission array, and each feed group in the feed array forms a beam after passing through the transmission array (transmission RIS).
[0076] In some embodiments, the antenna system further includes a switching network and a generating device for generating a baseband signal, each feed source group is connected to the generating device through the control of the switching network, and the switching of the feed source groups can be achieved under the control of the switching network.
[0077] Through the embodiments of the present application, the signal power of the middle area covered by adjacent beams can be improved without using a combiner.
[0078] For specific examples in this embodiment, reference may be made to the examples described in the above embodiments and exemplary implementation modes, and this embodiment will not be described in detail herein.
[0079] Obviously, those skilled in the art should understand that the above modules or steps of the present application can be implemented by a general computing device, they can be concentrated on a single computing device, or distributed on a network composed of multiple computing devices, they can be implemented by a program code executable by a computing device, so that they can be stored in a storage device and executed by the computing device, and in some cases, the steps shown or described can be executed in a different order from that herein, or they can be made into individual integrated circuit modules, or multiple modules or steps therein can be made into a single integrated circuit module for implementation. Thus, the present application is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.
[0080] The above description is only the preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various modifications and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the principles of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.
Claims
1. A feed array, It is characterized in that The feed source array is divided into a plurality of feed source groups, wherein each of the feed source groups comprises a plurality of feed sources arranged according to a preset topological structure, and any two adjacent feed source groups are staggered in the row direction and the column direction.
2. The feed array according to claim 1, It is characterized in that Each of the feed sources in the feed source array belongs to one of the feed source groups, and each of the feed sources belongs to only one of the feed source groups.
3. The feed array according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The multiple feed source groups are congruent polygons that are densely packed in a plane.
4. The feed array according to claim 3, It is characterized in that The number of feed sources in the feed source group at the edge position in the feed source array is less than or equal to the number of feed sources in the feed source group at the non-edge position.
5. The feed array according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The feed source arrays are aligned in row and column directions.
6. The feed array according to claim 5, It is characterized in that The preset topological structure includes at least one of the following: Preset a first topology; The preset first topology is rotated by 90°, 180° or 270°; The mirror symmetry of the preset first topology; The mirror-symmetric rotation of the preset first topology is 90°, 180° or 270°.
7. The feed array according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The feed source arrays are aligned in the row direction, with odd-numbered rows and even-numbered rows arranged alternately; or, the feed source arrays are aligned in the column direction, with odd-numbered columns and even-numbered columns arranged alternately.
8. The feed array according to claim 7, It is characterized in that The preset topological structure includes at least one of the following: Preset a second topology, wherein the preset second topology is a staggered deformation of the preset first topology in a row direction or a column direction; The preset second topology is rotated by 90°, 180° or 270°; The mirror symmetry of the preset second topology; The mirror-symmetric rotation of the preset second topology is 90°, 180° or 270°.
9. The feed array according to claim 1, It is characterized in that Each of the feed source groups corresponds to one or more of the preset topological structures, wherein the multiple preset topological structures are arranged alternately in the row direction and the column direction.
10. The feed array according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The multiple feed source groups are connected to the baseband signal of the antenna system through a switch network and a radio frequency link and form a beam respectively, wherein the beam direction corresponding to each feed source group is different.
11. An antenna system, It is characterized in that Comprising the feed array as described in any one of claims 1 to 10 above.